Reviews

“The use of puppets, sign language, tone and expression were very powerful. You obviously have a good understanding of schools, children and playgrounds!” Ms Barrett, KS1 Teacher, Helmingham School, Suffolk

“The Teachers’ Notes are fantastic: very detailed and helpful. I love that the script is included with the resources.” Ms Michael, Lonsdale School, Bedford.

“I just wanted to write and thank you for the performances on Monday. The children were very upbeat about them and I had some positive feedback from parents in the playground the following morning. A great success!” Ms Thorne, Deputy Headteacher, Meadow Primary School, Lowestoft.

“The children were captivated by the story and I liked how ‘minimalistic’ the performance was, allowing the children to really focus on the story. This was pitched perfectly for them and provoked lots of discussion in the classroom.” Ms Litchfield, Great Barford Lower School, Bedfordshire.

“This was great – we followed it up straight after and though not perfectly articulate, my class demonstrated empathy for all characters, even the bully! They explained possible reasons and feelings characters had, showing some depth of understanding.” Year 4 Teacher, Bournemouth Park Primary School, Southend, Essex.

“I was really impressed with both the writing and the delivery of the story. It was a brilliant tool for raising the themes targeted.”Year 5 teacher, Holy Trinity Primary, London Borough of Richmond

“Thank you for a super show and workshop. Both staff and children thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thank you so much. What you do is inspirational and motivating!” Ms Coleman, St Anne’s Catholic Primary, Surrey

“Super performance. The children all complained it was too short. Generated really constructive discussions back in class.” Teacher, Hampshire Primary School (responding to anonymous evaluation form)

“This is an excellent starting point for a PSHCE topic.” Teacher, Hampshire Primary School

“Thank you. Children were very responsive for some time after listening to the story.” Teacher, Hampshire Primary School

“Thank you for your hard work today – you must be exhausted! The feedback I received from our staff and children was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers were really impressed not only with the content, but with the way you delivered the story and really captured the attention of the children. Even some of our more difficult children were completely engaged and were able to talk afterwards about the message within the story. I have already seen some of the work that the children who saw the morning performances have begun to produce and I’m really pleased with what they’ve taken from it. I would be happy to recommend you to other schools who are considering booking a Gripping Yarns performances.” Ms Lawrence, Headteacher, Georgian Gardens Primary, West Sussex.

“We thoroughly enjoyed the session which was very well presented and sensitively handled throughout.” David Fox, Headteacher, Ridgeway Primary, Leicestershire

“Jane is a wonderful actress who manages to get her message across in a believable and authoritative manner. I loved the new system of showing cards as we could see instantly which children were reacting inappropriately. ” Teacher, Belgrave Primary School, Cheshire

The production of Outside the Circle came to our school. It was about a boy called Raz who was picked on and called rude names. There was one person who performed the whole production and his name was Simon. The play was performed very well. In fact it was amazingly performed! The play made me feel sorry for Raz because he was getting picked on all the time and because he was pushed outside the circle of friends. In the middle of the play I felt worried so I had butterflies in my tummy. The play also made me feel happy because of what happened at the end. If I had to explain how the play affected me, I would say it helped me to understand bullying a lot better than I did before I watched it. I would also say that the play was a very good message to people who are bullying other children.” Tyler, a year 6 student from an Essex primary school, published in school magazine

I wanted to give you some feedback on your visit to St Paul’s with Outside the Circle. First, there was in general a very positive impression of what you did with the children. Year 5 enjoyed it and had a very good discussion following your presentation. A comment from one child was, ‘You might be smiling on the outside but you might be crying on the inside.’ The Year 3 teacher said that he thought his class were quite moved by the experience and the Year 4 teacher said all the children felt included by the presentation, which they enjoyed. Year 6 followed up with an activity using ‘anonymised praise’ and the teacher said that the discussion revealed an increased awareness about how much negative comments can hurt. So thanks once again for coming and for the work you continue to do with children. Headteacher, St Paul’s Primary School, Cambridge

The performance was fantastic and you had the children spell bound. I have never known them to be so engaged. You handled sensitive material thoughtfully. Some of the children thanked me for organising it a sure sign that they enjoyed it. I will be recommending you to other schools in the area because I feel that through your story there is an important message that all children should hear. Sandra Cresswell, Literacy coordinator, Haywood Grove school

Thank you so much for the excellent performances that you did for us yesterday. I have spent today following up the ideas that you introduced, and the discussions that we have had in our class have been very deep and thoughtful. Sue Collins, St Anne’s, Chertsey

Extremely thought-provoking scenario. Thank you for having such a positive impact on the pupils’ learning. Rob Lee, St Bernadette’s RCPS, Hampshire

The cards were a very useful non-verbal way to engage all the children during the performance without breaking the flow of the story. They allowed for a clear assessment of understanding and opinions. Mrs Cowell, Kingsley St John’s CEPS, Cheshire

“Superb performance! Thank you!” Ms Miles, Stowmarket MIddle School

The performance was fantastic and you had the children spell bound. I have never known them to be so engaged. You handled sensitive material thoughtfully. Some of the children thanked me for organising it a sure sign that they enjoyed it. I will be recommending you to other schools in the area because I feel that through your story there is an important message that all children should hear. Sandra Cresswell, Literacy coordinator, Haywood Grove school